Palace denies pushing Noli’s 2004 bid

The Palace denied yesterday reports that it was pushing Sen. Noli de Castro and religious leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva to run in next year’s presidential elections and help ensure President Arroyo’s victory.

"All those reports are mere speculations," Presidential Deputy Spokesman Ricardo Saludo said, noting that numerous criticisms are coming out. He said these are all part of the run-up to the elections.

Saludo cited the case of a survey indicating that actor and presidential aspirant Fernando Poe Jr. was leading the race. Opinion poll group Pulse Asia denied conducting such a survey last Wednesday, the same day after the report came out.

There were reports that the Palace is drafting de Castro and Villanueva for the presidential race in a bid to divide the votes for Poe.

Saludo said the public would know who will really run in the presidential race based on the list of presidential candidates who officially file their certificates of candidacy before the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

"The public should be careful with what they are hearing and the things they would believe in because there are so many issues that are coming out and, most of the time, they are all speculations and fabricated reports coming from various camps," he said.

In a related development, a Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) official said opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Poe are still expected to end up both running for president, despite their agreement to unite the opposition.

Ruling party spokesman Heherson Alvarez said there seems to be no way of stopping Lacson or Poe from throwing their hats into the presidential ring.

Even after the meeting between Lacson and Poe, Alvarez said, "I personally believe that there would be two opposition candidates in the May presidential polls."

Alvarez added that it would be better for the ruling party and for the public if both Lacson and Poe joined the presidential derby.